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Ministry of Communication blocks Nymgo

July 31, 2010Lord Aymz

In a rather underhanded move, the Ministry of Communication (MoC) has followed suit of UAE and blocked VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) service provider Nymgo, similar to Skype, in a bid to maintain the monopoly over international calls.

The same issue was raised in the UAE, and a representative of Skype visited the Emirates to condemn the action of blocking the service as unbefitting of a country that is claiming to be an international hub.

The simple rule of Economics dictates that an economy that functions under monopoly rarely sees any betterment in terms of services (remember back in the day when to make an international call you had to visit the Centrals? Those huge buildings scattered around Kuwait, via buying plastic cards, which I used to collect as a child coz the had cool pictures on them) however, a free market economy guarantees that the consumer is given the best in terms of service, price etc.

It is a real shame, Nymgo was far superior to Skype in that it never failed to connect a call, Skype had a nasty habit of not playing the dial-tone at times, so whilst the person on the other end picks up, you cannot hear them. But, Skype did offer sending txt msgs as if they came from your phone, hence the recipient merely clicks reply, and a msg is sent to your phone, whereas Nymgo msgs appear as being from Nymgo.com

Where there is a will, there is a way. There is always a way to bypass “Blocked by Qualitynet” or “Blocked by Fasttelco”, anonymizers serve to bounce your IP address making it appear as though you are signing in from another country. (I use anonymizers to access TPB [The Pirate Bay] for torrents)

This is terrible, but alas, c’est la vie.

Communication in Kuwait has moved toward mobile phones, you no longer need a landline, I seldom ever use mine, and even when the phone rings, I never answer, as I know that if someone wants to call me, they’ll reach me on my mobile (most of the time its a wrong number, the same wrong number I have been getting for the past 20 years!)

Dial-up is nonexistant, you can have DSL and WiFi off a USB device. Revenue @ MoC must have been steadily decreasing, hence this low-blow.

The majority of the expat community, the transients of Kuwait, rely on VoIP to contact loved ones back home. It is easy, cheap, reliable, and most importantly, CHEAP!

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